A Winter Melody
by BlackCatPen
Summary: Just a little One-shot I came up with while having writers block for Now Or Never. Please review, it makes me want to write more :


**A Winter Melody**

**BlackCatPen**

The snow outside was falling fast, creating a scene right out of a Christmas card. The old lamps that lit the way to the lake were capped with little snowy hats. The paths were covered and no one would be around to clear them for several hours. The smoke curled out of the chimney in the groundskeepers' house. The little village nearby was dark, except for a few old-fashioned streetlights that lit the path.

The castle was silent in anticipation for the following day. Only two students lay awake in their beds. The round turret in which they lay was the dorm for the two Head students. It contained a small common room, two bedrooms, and a shared bathroom. As was the style, it seemed, the room had older features, although it seemed to add to the charm. A fireplace set into the wall was reduced to embers because of the late hour. A small pile of wood rested beside it. The floors were stone, but had warm rugs tastefully placed everywhere. The walls were draped with elegant tapestries that depicted different scenes. On opposite sides of the room two staircases winded upwards.

Two doors lay at the top. One door had a gracefully carved sign posted on the door that read, _Lily Isabelle Evans, Head Girl_, with a rose engraved beneath it. The other door was the same way, but with _James Harold Potter, Head Boy, _on it. A stag adorned the sign. Although, beneath the official plate, there held a rough sign. The words _Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs _were carved. Imprinted around it were a full moon, a rat, a wolf-like creature, a dog, and another stag.

The rooms would have been identical if not for the personal touches the students had made. Huge king-sized beds that were far too large for the two students they held, dominated the rooms. The curtains embellishing the windows were scarlet trimmed with gold. There was a large bookcase in each room, however one was overflowing while the other was devoid of books, and instead filled with Quidditch achievements, awards, and equipment. Big circular rugs were positioned in the middle of the rooms. The two rooms also held desks. One had all of the books and homework neatly stacked to one side with spare parchment and quills to another. The other had books lying open on their spines with various scraps of parchment sticking out marking different pages. Well-worn copies of _Hogwarts: A History, _and a potions text were among those that were open.

In the room labeled _Lily _was girl with shocking red hair lying awake on top of the covers of her bed. A cream colored blanket peeked out beneath the black and white comforter. Random clothes littered the floor; sweaters, jeans, t-shirts, shorts, and other various items lay haphazardly around the room. She stared off into space her emerald eyes glazing over while her forehead crinkled in concentration.

Across the hall there was a similar situation with the tall, messy-haired boy, James. He too lay on top of his covers, though his were an immaculate red and gold. With a sigh of defeat the boy stood and made his way to the door that led to the bathroom. He yanked it open quietly; keeping in mind the late hour and the fact that Lily may be sleeping, and flicked on the light then dimmed them. He pushed his rectangular glasses back up his nose and stared into the mirror. He had dark circles underneath his eyes from lack of sleep and stress. Resigning himself to the fact that it would be another sleepless night, he left the shared bathroom and descended the stairs to the common room.

Pulling a thin piece of wood from his pocket, he levitated a few logs of wood onto the embers and with another flick, set them aflame. He settled down on the floor in front of the fire. Leaning back onto to his hands he stared into the flickering flames.

Upstairs in Lily's room, she had just sat up and crossed her legs, reaching over to her bedside table to grab the green notebook that served as her journal. Flipping through the pages she saw the messages and poems that she had traced with her muggle pen onto the pages. One of her newer poems caught her eye.

**Fooling the world**

**With a happy smile**

**Nothing seems real anymore**

**The brightest colours fade to gray**

**And the night is silent as can be**

**No chirping or insect noise to break the quiet**

**Not sure who to trust anymore**

**Seems like everyone let me down**

**Left to cry broken on the floor**

**Pretending to care**

**I can see it in their eyes**

**They would rather I disappear**

**Can't distinguish **

**What is real **

**And what is fake in this world**

**Watch the sunrise fade away**

**The colours fade **

**To a monochromatic nightmare**

**Somehow I never could understand**

**The allure of fitting in **

**The outside is always looking in**

**The flowers always have to wilt**

**A ghost of former glory**

**That never measures up**

**Is any of this real?**

**Or is it a daydream gone wrong?**

**The nightmare I cannot escape**

**Pictures of a perfect memory**

**Burn in the fire**

**The edges go black **

**Take care of my heart,**

**I may have left it with you.**

The words were more than true she thought. She closed her journal and set it back in its place on the side table. Getting up, she grabbed and overly large Gryffindor hoodie and pulled it on over her tank top and shorts. She walked over to her door and quietly opened it. Walking softly down the steps to the common room she paused at the bottom when she spotted James.

She stood their contemplating whether or not she should just turn around and head back upstairs. His quiet voice from in front of the fire scared her when he said; "You can join me if you'd like. It won't bother me." She accepted this invitation and sat down beside him in front of the fire. They were quiet, the way it is with people who aren't great friends, but found themselves in a situation where they were forced together.

She watched the shadows flickering across the stone walls, and he watched flames in mutual contentment, their problems all but forgotten in that one moment. Though the troubles wouldn't leave them alone for long. Soon, James and Lily were back to worrying, unaware that the other was thinking the same thing.

Finally, Lily spoke up. "Hey… James… I just wanted to say… I mean apologize for being so mean. So, I'm sorry." It was in a small and timid voice, but sounded sincere and like she had spent a lot of time figuring out how to word it.

James was taken aback that she had apologized, when he was actually planning to! "Lily, I'm sorry too. If it wasn't for me pestering you, you wouldn't have had to be mean in the first place." Although he was sincere, his voice was strong as he said it. He was completely sure of his words. He wanted her to believe him this time, to believe that he was sincere; unlike all the other times he'd opened his mouth to talk to her.

"Thank you, it means a lot." With that final statement, they lapsed back into silence, though this one was much less awkward.

It was a while before Lily finally got up the courage to speak again. "James? Can I ask you a question?" She asked before she could think better of it.

"Sure. Go ahead." He responded curiously glancing at her.

"… Never mind. It was stupid." She blushed and glanced down.

"Lily? You know you can ask me anything right?"

"Really? You're sure?"

"Of course. Now, what was your question?"

"Have you ever felt like you know someone, but then they turn around and do something completely unexpected?" She said in a rush, as if she had been holding it in for so long that it felt good to get it all out.

"Everyday, every single day." He said without hesitation. While she was thinking of him, he was thinking of her. It was sweet really, how, without knowing, they were thinking of the other. They were thinking how the other would never fully realize the extent of how their feelings had changed. In Lily's case she had finally fallen for the handsome, arrogant, yet somehow humble, James Potter. In James's mind he was thinking of how his feelings had grown for the fiery redhead.

Without thinking, James draped his arm over Lily's shoulder and she settled against his chest. They both exhaled a pent up breath and chuckled quietly as they realized they both had at the same time. They both grew sleepy and moved to the couch, still less than five feet from the fire. Lily rested her head on his chest, and James wrapped his arms around her waist. He watched her blink her eyes and the as the space between them got longer, her kissed the top of her head and quietly whispered, "I love you, Lily." Fate had finally decided that James deserved a reward for all his hard work, for Lily was still awake and whispered, "I love you, too." The smile that graced his face was the largest ever to be seen, except for when he and the Marauders were planning a prank.

Their relationship wasn't perfect, and by no means would it be easy, but they felt like finally, thankfully, fate was rewarding them for all their hard work. James, for chasing after her for so long, and Lily for finally succumbing to her feeling that she had been repressing for years.

As the snow kept falling all the way to morning, Christmas morning found the two students cuddled up in front of the dying fire, smiling in their sleep. Happiness had finally found its way to Lily Evans and James Potter. And it smiled upon them a year later when they got married, and when Harry James Potter came into this world. But nothing good could last forever.

It just goes to show, that if you keep on trying, you will succeed.


End file.
